However, after the trial period ended, the airport authorities made no move to amend the schedule despite persistent complaints from the workers.

The workers say they have grown accustomed to the old schedule and have planned their lives around it, but there is less flexibility with the new requirements.

“We have been battling with them back and forth to try to get it changed, but the Director of Safety and Security at the airport, Deverel Forde has been adamant that he is not going back. We have been to the HR, the CEO and nothing a security supervisor who requested anonymity,” said.

The supervisor said the workers are not opposed to working eight hours of day but, the problem they are having is with the time span which the shift covers.

“What we are saying the 12 midnight to 8am shift, it makes no sense to have officers, because the operations really start at 4am and between 4 am and 8 am you might only have a Barbuda flight or one LIAT. It’s like dead hours that officers are here doing nothing,” the security officer said.

The security guards also argued that the schedule conflicts with their off days, in that they are still on the job for the first few hours of that particular day.

The supervisor said the workers also suggested alternate schedules which were not accepted by the authority.

In direct response to the claims, Forde said the changes are in keeping with internationally recognised standards.

“Security officers have to be more mature. They have to understand there are significant changes in the world of aviation and security and they have to try and adapt,” Forde said.

Forde also explained the decision to change the roster was made in consultation with the affected guards and their bargaining unit the Antigua & Barbuda’s Union (A&BWU), after the union indicated the workers were having difficulty with the old system.

“We had some time to review what existed and we came up with a plan that in order to be efficient the best approach would be start and end all shifts in the same day. That is what efficiency is all about. It simply means that three shifts, eight hours each, must be completed in 24 hours,” Forde said.